The Giro organization decided that Alfredo Binda, through his dominant riding, was suffocating the Giro. Binda was paid by the Giro, in agreement with his sponsor Legnano, to take a pass on the 1930 edition. Binda then entered and failed to finish the Tour de France.

Luigi Marchisio took the lead in the third stage and held it to the end, becoming, at 21 years, 1 month and 13 days, the second-youngest ever Giro winner. Fausto Coppi, who won in 1940 at 20 years, 8 months and 18 days, remains the youngest winner.

1930 Giro d'Italia Complete Final General Classification:

Luigi Marchisio (Legnano): 11hr 11min 55sec

Luigi Giacobbe (Maino) @ 52sec

Allegro Grandi (Bianchi) @ 1min 49sec

Ambrogio Morelli (Gloria) @ 11min 12sec

Antonio Pesenti (Dei-Pirelli) @ 16min 1sec

Antonio Negrini (Maino) @ 17min 48sec

Felice Gremo (Legnano) @ 22min 28sec

Aristide Cavallini (Dei-Pirelli) @ 23min 58sec

Learco Guerra (Maino) @ 26min 10sec

Amerigo Cacioni (independent) @ 37min 11sec

Domenico Piemontesi (Bianchi) @ 38min 11sec

Carlo Moretti @ 49min 28sec

Michele Orecchia (Gloria) @ 54min 25sec

Augusto Zanzi (independent) @ 1hr 4min 17sec

Michele Mara (Bianchi) @ 1hr 14min 11sec

Pietro Fossati (Maino) @ 1hr 15min 33sec

Fabio Battesini (Maino) @ 1hr 15min 41sec

Leonida Frascarelli (Legnano) @ 1hr 16min 13sec

Angelo Lalle (independent) @ 1hr 24min 59sec

Tullio D'Achille (independent) @ 1hr 38min 45sec

Armando Gori (independent) @ 1hr 47min 38sec

Angelo Rinaldi (Maino) @ 1hr 52min 56sec

Oreste Cignoli (independent) @ 1hr 56min 31sec

Carlo Romanatti (independent) @ 1hr 57min 53sec

Aleardo Simoni (independent) @ 2hr 3min 8sec

Albino Binda (Legnano) @ 2hr 7min 27sec

Giovanni La Rocca (independent) @ 2hr 38min 1sec

Alfonso Ambrogio Crippa (Bianchi) @ 2hr 50min 14sec

Alfredo Dinale (Legnano) @ 2hr 57min 22sec

Amilcare Galloni @ 2hr 59min 20sec

Carlo Rovida (independent) @ 3hr 12min 55sec

Natale Nobile @ 3hr 13min 18sec

Umberto Cardinali @ 3hr 14min 18sec

Raffaele Perna @ 3hr 18min 17sec

Mario Lavazza @ 3hr 25min 46sec

Roberto Lorenzetti @ 3hr 27min 17sec

Alfredo Carniselli @ 3hr 44min 38sec

Adolfo Martelli @ 3hr 45min 12sec

Domenico Puleo @ 3hr 52min 8sec

Mario Semprini @ 4hr 12min 31sec

Enea Dalfiume @ 4hr 30min 32sec

Carlo Polo @ 4hr 41min 4sec

Mario Bianchi @ 4hr 48min 51sec

Pierino Ferioli (Gloria) @ 4hr 49min 24sec

Arnaldo Bergami @ 5hr 10min 41sec

Salvatore Praticò @ 5hr 26min 48sec

Francesco De Fano @ 5hr 37min 28sec

Severio Rossi @ 6hr 2min 33sec

Roccardo Terreni @ 6hr 6min 32sec

Giovanni Pizzarelli @ 6hr 35min 42sec

Giuseppe Martorana @ 6hr 50min 15sec

Luigi Cecilli @ 6hr 58min 52sec

Giacomo Fassio @ 7hr 39min 59sec

Luigi Ugaglia @ 7hr 42min 29sec

Antonio Ferrazzano @ 8hr 22min 37sec

Vincenzo Agazzi @ 8hr 59min 9sec

Antonio Viani @ 9hr 19min 45sec

Leonardo Mariantoni @ 9hr 37min 10sec

Nicola Ranieri @ 9hr 39min 51sec

Gildo Lievore @ 10hr 6min 24sec

Arnaldo Fincato @ 11hr 22min 49sec

Umberto Reina @ 11hr 24min 16sec

Gaetano Riva @ 11hr 51min 8sec

Ottavio Dominici @ 11hr 53min 57sec

Bruno Fontana @ 13hr 59min 20sec

Alberto Mongiano @ 16hr 45min 40sec

Giovanni Carnielli @ 19hr 19min 32sec

Team Classification:

Bianchi

Legnano

Maino

Gloria

1930 Giro stage results with running GC:

Stage 1: Saturday, May 17, Messina - Catania, 167 km

Ascent: Cantoniera Mandrazzi (1,100m)

Michele Mara: 6hr 32min 15sec

Marco Giuntelli s.t.

Antonio Negrini s.t.

Luigi Marchisio s.t.

Luigi Giacobbe s.t.

Giuseppe Pancera s.t.

Giovanni Proserpio s.t.

Angelo Lalle s.t.

Allegro Grandi s.t.

Augusto Zanzi s.t.

Stage 2: Sunday, May 18, Catania - Palermo, 258 km

Ascents: Adernò (562m), Enna (948m)

Leonida Frascarelli: 12hr 5min 51sec

Antonio Negrini s.t.

Ambrogio Morelli s.t.

Luigi Marchisio s.t.

Allegro Grandi s.t.

Tullio D'Achille s.t.

Luigi Giacobbe s.t.

Angelo Lalle s.t.

Pietro Mori s.t.

Felice Gremo s.t.

GC after Stage 2:

Antonio Negrini: 18hr 38min 10sec

Luigi Marchisio s.t.

Luigi Giacobbe s.t.

Angelo Lalle s.t.

Felice Gremo s.t.

Allegro Grandi s.t.

Ambrogio Morelli @ 1min 39sec

Marco Giuntelli @ 1min 43sec

Giuseppe Pancera s.t.

Amerigo Cacioni @ hmin 48sec

Stage 3: Tuesday, May 20, Palermo - Messina, 257 km

Luigi Marchisio: 10hr 0min 54sec

Learco Guerra @ 9sec

Amerigo Cacioni @ 16sec

Luigi Giacobbe @ 22sec

Antonio Pesenti @ 30sec

Francesco Camusso @ 56sec

Ambrogio Morelli @ 1min 16sec

Alfonso Crippa s.t.

Augusto Zanzi s.t.

Felice Gremo @ 1min 55sec

GC after Stage 3:

Luigi Marchisio: 28hr 37min 4sec

Luigi Giacobbe @ 2min 22sec

Felice Gremo @ 3min 53sec

Antonio Negrini @ 4min 26sec

Ambrogio Morelli @ 4min 53sec

Allegro Grandi @ 5min 8sec

Marco Giuntelli @ 5min 47sec

Amerigo Cacioni @ 6min 4sec

Giuseppe Pancera @ 6min 11sec

Pietro Mori @ 10min 22sec

Stage 4: Thursday, May 22, Reggio Calabria - Catanzaro, 173 km

Luigi Marchisio: 6hr 55min 31sec

Raffaele Di Paco @ 27sec

Francesco Camusso @ 34sec

Michele Mara @ 1min 8sec

Allegro Grandi s.t.

Antonio Pesenti s.t.

Luigi Giacobbe @ 1min 31sec

Amerigo Cacioni @ 2min 41sec

Learco Guerra @ 2min 43sec

Carlo Moretti, Roberto Lorenzetti, Augusto Zanzi, Ambrogio Morelli given same time and place.

This excerpt is from "The Story of the Giro d'Italia", Volume 1. If you enjoy it we hope you will consider purchasing the book, either print or electronic. The Amazon link here will make either purchase easy.

The Giro organization decided that Binda was suffocating the Giro. So convinced were they that Binda was costing the Giro d’Italia the tension and excitement that was needed to inflame the sports fans, they decided that the race was better off without him. Emilio Bozzi, the owner of Binda’s sponsor Legnano, was approached with an offer of 22,500 lire, the amount of the first place prize, to keep Binda at home. Bozzi agreed to the scandalous offer and the 1930 Giro was run without Italy’s finest rider.

For years Tour boss Henri Desgrange had wanted the magnificent Italian to ride his race. But Binda had always demurred, preferring to concentrate on the Giro, which was the most valuable race for his Italian sponsor. With no Giro for Binda to race, Desgrange renewed his courtship. So desperate was Desgrange to get Binda, he did what he claimed he would never do, offer start money. Binda and Desgrange came to an agreement that was to remain secret. Thinking he had Gazzetta’s lire jangling in his pocket along with Desgrange’s francs, he headed off to France.

Legnano reaped a magnificent publicity windfall from the Binda non-entry, Binda’s absence being the big story when the race began. But that didn’t mean Legnano had no intention of winning this Giro. They brought a 21-year old neo-pro, Luigi Marchisio, along with Alfredo Binda’s brother Albino, Angelo Gremo and Leonida Frascarelli.

Dei Bicycles had Pancera and Antonio Pesenti, Bianchi brought Piemontesi and Negrini while the Maino team had young riders Di Paco, Guerra and Luigi Giacobbe.

The Giro wanted to spice up their race and having Binda take a May vacation was only part of their plan. Now that Girardengo was in the sunset of his career, the promoters were looking for a rider who would fire the public’s imagination and be a true rival to Binda. Sports are more exciting when the outcome is impossible to forecast. They were casting about for the “Anti-Binda” and they thought they had found their Lancelot (perhaps more correctly for Italy, their Orlando) in Learco Guerra. As we’ll see, Guerra needed a bit more time to mature before he could truly compete with Binda.

For the first time the Giro started in Sicily. Like the Giro’s other extended periods in southern Italy during this era, the Sicilian adventure was harassed by myriad organizational mishaps.

Starting in Messina, they scheduled three stages on the island, visiting Catania and Palermo before returning to Messina. The result of the Sicilian tour was a surprise. Twenty-one year old Luigi Marchisio was the leader by 2 minutes 22 seconds over Giacobbe.

When the peloton rode by Mount Etna, the almost always-active volcano was spewing ash into the air and Marchisio got a piece in his eye. He was forced to race the first half of the Giro with a bandage, but the injury didn’t deter the young rider from Piedmont.

Two days after Marchisio’s triumph in Messina, the race resumed on the mainland at Reggio Calabria on Italy’s toe. Again the young Marchisio astonished the tifosi by coming in alone in Catanzaro, beating Di Paco by a half-minute and Giacobbe by a minute and a half.

Giacobbe stole a march on Marchisio when he, Di Paco, Grandi and Gremo left several of the big guns over four minutes behind on the hilly run-in to Salerno. Now the Giro was a real race with only 33 seconds between the leader Marchisio and the persistent challenger Giacobbe, also young at just 23.

The eighth stage is remembered because it was the first Giro stage win for third-year pro Learco Guerra. Colombo called him the “Human Locomotive” because of his ability to power his bike at high speed over the flats, and the name stuck. Guerra was to become one of the winningest riders in cycling history and Binda’s second rival, after Girardengo, for Italy’s affection.

As the race continued northward, Marchisio and Giacobbe kept their hammerlock on the first two places, but Marchisio was unable to widen the gap any more than the 52 seconds he had managed to squeak out by the ninth stage. If Marchisio broke away—as he did in stage nine with Michele Mara, Morelli, Gremo and Guerra—Giacobbe was alert as a sheepdog and right there at Marchisio’s shoulder. Bianchi’s Allegro Grandi was the only other General Classification rider racing at the level of Marchisio and Giacobbe. The rest of the field was forced to scramble for the scraps the top three riders left to them.

Over the remaining six stages neither Giacobbe nor Marchisio could change the 52-second gap. When the race’s 67 survivors stormed into Milan on June 8, the two riders had given the fans a stirring and tension-filled three weeks.
Moreover, the youth of these top two riders and the exciting, spirited riding that Di Paco, Mara and Guerra brought to the race made Binda’s absence a non-issue. Once the race was underway Binda was largely unmissed.

At 21 years 1 month 13 days, Luigi Marchisio was the youngest Giro winner to date.

Marchisio, yet another of the era’s superb riders from Piedmont (Giacobbe was also from Piedmont), never again rose to the heights he attained in the 1930 Giro. One can’t help but think that he was too young to lead a Grand Tour from almost its beginning to its end. More than one brilliant young rider has been ruined by having raced too much too soon.

Guerra’s 1930 season turned out to be a spectacular prelude to a magnificent career. In July he came in second in the Tour, winning three stages and holding the lead for seven days. He was second in the World Championships (to Binda) and third in the Tour of Lombardy.

The 1930 Giro was a banner race for another rider, Michele Mara. Mara was a sprinter and unable to contest for the General Classification because, like nearly his entire breed, he lost too much time in the mountains. But by the end of the race he won five stages, including the final one into Milan. It wasn’t just the 1930 Giro that was good for Mara. The entire year was his oyster. In addition to five Giro stages he won Milan–San Remo, Rome–Naples–Rome and the Tour of Lombardy.

And how did Binda’s trip to France turn out? The Tour had done away with trade teams, putting the riders in national teams instead. The Italian team sported Binda, Piemontesi, Pancera, Guerra, Belloni, Gremo, Frascarelli and Marco Giuntelli. It was a fine squad and only the French team was powerful enough to keep the Italians from taking the final Yellow Jersey in Paris.

The Italian team had acquitted itself well in the early stages with Learco Guerra taking the lead after stage two. Binda won two stages and was in third place when he crashed in stage seven, losing an hour and any chance of a high placing. He abandoned during stage ten, the second day in the Pyrenees.

Binda’s retirement from the Tour baffled contemporary Italian writers. There really seemed no reason for him to return home. He won stage nine going over the Aubisque and Tourmalet, finishing with French team riders Antonin Magne and eventual overall winner André Leducq. It was during this stage that Guerra lost his lead in the Tour, Binda and the Frenchmen having come in over thirteen minutes ahead.

Two days later, still in the Pyrenees, Binda led over the first major ascent of the day, the Portet d’Aspet. Clearly he was in fine shape but he quit that day and isn’t listed among the day’s classified finishers. Only later did he reveal that he was troubled that the Giro organization hadn’t paid him his non-start money. Presumably with Desgrange’s dough secure in his bank account, he went back to Italy to shake the Giro money tree.

The Tour start-money deal might have remained a secret forever, but in 1980, six years before his death, Binda spilled the beans. With no Giro, Binda’s real goal for the year had been the World Championship, and in the fall Binda again became Champion of the World.